


Green Eyes

by Liz_87



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24538555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_87/pseuds/Liz_87
Summary: An exploration of what happened with Duffy's dad.
Relationships: Lisa "Duffy" Duffin/Charlie Fairhead
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Charlie was stood outside with Elle waiting to receive the next patient as the ambulance pulled up. The back doors opened and Iain jumped out. Turning to them he started to read out the patient handover notes as they wheeled the patient inside. 

"Hi Charlie, Elle, this is Jonathan Simpson, aged 81. Fell at home query fractured right neck of femur and distal radius. GCS 15 on arrival, given him 10 of morphine for the pain. His BM is also low, at 3.5, given him oral glucose to bring his BM within normal range. His obs: low bp of 90/60, slightly bradycardic at 51, reps of 18, o2 97%, a low temp of 35.5 and was complaining of dizziness before he fell. He has a history of hypertension, and is on meds to stabilize this. But he has been feeling like this on and off the past few days. We suspect he was laid on the floor for several hours before a neighbour found him and called us. Flat was very cold when we entered." 

"Right, cubicles please Charlie." Elle said.

Once they'd got him settled, Elle set about examining Mr Simpson and asked Charlie to organise x-rays for him. She also ordered blood tests to determine how a patient with a history of hypertension now had low blood pressure. Though he seemed fairly on the ball she was concerned that he had possibly become confused and taken more of his tablets than the prescribed dose. 

Charlie returned from ordering the tests to check on Mr Simpson and ask him a few questions. 

"Right Mr Simpson, there's a bit of a wait on x-rays but we'll get you down there as soon as possible. How's the pain? Still manageable or getting worse again?" 

"Oh please call me Jon, Mr Simpson makes me sound like an old fuddy duddy! I'm doing ok thank you."

"Ok Jon, is there anyone you want us to contact for you? Your wife? Children?" 

"It's just me. I was never very good at that sort of thing." 

Charlie raised an eyebrow at that. "Ok. Do you mean you've lost touch with them? We could maybe help with that if you wanted us to." 

"I wouldn't even know where to begin. Doubt they'd want to hear from me anyway." 

"You're ill, surely they'd want to know." 

"No, best to leave the past in the past." 

A short while later Charlie was stood at admin flicking through a patient file when Elle approached him. 

"How's Mr Simpson, Charlie?" 

"He's doing ok, up in x-ray currently." 

"Is that his file? Anything interesting?" 

Charlie sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing of particular note. I'm confused though, there's something about him that's familiar but I can't work out what." 

"Maybe you've treated him before?" 

"I did wonder that but according to his file he's never been to this hospital before. Oh well, it's probably nothing." 

"Fair enough. Can you do obs on him when he returns from x-ray please?" 

"Sure." 

Once Jon had returned Charlie went over and started taking routine obs. Whilst running a torch across his eyes he noticed something. 

"Green eyes. You don't see those very often." 

"Apparently so. You should have seen me when I was a young man, Charlie, green eyes and light red hair. The girls loved it. Very exotic here in Holby! Ten a penny where I grew up in Ireland though!" 

"Ah so you've lived in England a long time then?" 

"Came over during the summer of '59. Thought I'd chance my luck getting some work round here. A couple of my mates had done the same thing the previous year and seemed to be doing well for themselves." 

"Ah so have you always lived in Holby since you moved to England?" 

"No I've moved around quite a lot over the years." 

"Ah I see. Is that how you lost touch with your kids?" 

Jon bristled. "You don't half ask a lot of questions!" 

Charlie raised his hands in defeat. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I'll leave you in peace for a while til your x-rays come back." 

Charlie left the cubicle and headed for the staffroom. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't realise anyone else was in the room til he heard a voice behind him as he was making a cup of tea. 

"Penny for them?" 

His face broke into a grin as he turned and spotted his wife sat on the sofa flicking through a magazine, a cup of tea in her hand. Picking up his mug he walks over and sits down next to her. 

"So what's wrong?" 

"Oh nothing, just a tricky patient. There's something familiar about him but I can't work out what." 

She laughed. "I've been in this job so long that half the population of Holby seems to look vaguely familiar to me!" 

"True. I tried to find out more about his background but he got defensive." 

She stroked her hand down his cheek and tapped him on the nose with her finger. "Well that'll teach you to be so nosy, won't it?" 

Pulling a face at her he lent forward and gave her a light kiss on the lips. Suddenly a thought struck him. He sat back. 

"Duffy, what colour were your mum's eyes?" 

A look of total confusion filled her face. "Blue. Why?" 

"Oh no reason. Just curious." He finished the rest of his tea and stood up. "Anyway, I best get back to work. See you later." 

He headed back over to cubicles and saw that Elle was chatting to Jon. She turned as she heard him approach. 

"Ah Charlie, can you chase up a bed for Mr Simpson please? He'll be going up for surgery but the wards are being typically slow with admissions today." She left to go check on other patients. 

"So Jon why don't you tell me more about when you first came to Holby?"

Jon smiled. "Oh those were the good old days!" 

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What Holby in the early 60s? You must be joking! I remember it as a kid. It was so boring. Things didn't really liven up round here til the 70s." 

"Ah but that's because you weren't a young man in your prime back then. The dancehalls, the women..." 

Charlie chuckled. "I should have known there'd be a woman involved somewhere. What was she like?" 

"Katie? Oh she was beautiful! Blonde hair, blue eyes. Your classic English rose. Not a bit like the girls back home." 

"Sounds lovely. What happened?" 

"She was 18 and her father hated me. Said he didn't want some cheeky Irish scoundrel hanging round his little girl." 

"Ah. So what did you do?"

"Well we continued to see each other for a bit in secret but after a while it fizzled out." 

"Did you ever see her again?" 

"A couple of times but then I got offered a job in Liverpool so moved up there." 

"Do you have family up there that we can contact for you? You should have someone with you."

Jon laughed but it wasn't a joyful sound. "Just a bitter ex-wife and two kids who have no doubt been turned against me by her!" 

"So you came back to Holby?" 

"Not straight away, spent several years in London. That's where my youngest lad was born. He was backpacking in the far East last I heard, good luck getting hold of him!" 

"So when you did eventually come back to Holby did you not consider trying to find Katie? It sounds like you really loved her." 

"Oh no! I was a coward then and I'm still a coward now!" 

"I don't understand." 

"Katie's father told me to get as far away from the two of them as possible and stay away. I should have stood up to him but I took the cowards way out and ran away." 

"The two of them?" 

"Katie and baby Lisa." He laughed. "Though she'd be a grown woman now so I doubt she answers to that anymore!" A far away look entered Jon's eyes. "She was such a bonny little thing though. She had wispy red curls and the biggest smile. She was just starting to sit up when I left." 

Charlie's heart began to thud and his mind was working overtime. When he'd first contemplated the idea that this man could be his wife's father he'd thought it would probably turn out to be nonsense when examined more closely. Oh hell how was he going to deal with this? He reined his mind back in. This could still all just be a coincidence. A very big coincidence but still one all the same. He decided to ask the question that would clinch it. 

"Um, when was Lisa born?" 

"March 1961. I'm not sure of the exact date though." 

"Right I need to go check on a couple of other patients and chase up that bed for you. I will be back in a bit." He left the cubicle and headed over to admin. Spotting David, he got the other nurse's attention. "Ah David, can you chase up a bed for Mr Simpson in cubicle 5 please?" He noticed Duffy walking towards the desk. "Um, I'll be back soon there's something I need to sort out." He grabbed Duffy's arm as she passed near him. She turned to look at him confused. "Have you got a few minutes to come outside with me sweetheart? There's something I need to talk to you about..." 

Glancing over at David and then back at her husband her confusion increased. "Um, ok. What's going on?" Her confusion turned to panic. "Is it one of the boys? Is something wrong?" 

"No, no, nothing like that. Let's just go outside." He led her out the building and towards the bench in the peace garden. 

Taking her arm from his grasp she whirled to face him. "What's going on Charlie?"

"Ok. This is going to sound crazy but I need you to stay calm ok?" She looked puzzled but nodded. "Erm, I really don't know where to even start with this..." 

"Charlie!" 

"Ok. Right. Um. When did you last see your dad?" 

"What? I don't understand... Hang on, you were asking about my mum earlier and now you want to know about my dad. What the hell is all this about?!" Her voice was being to raise with agitation. 

"You said you'd try to stay calm..." 

"Charlie!" 

"Look just answer the question and I'll try to explain."

She looked down at her feet and fiddled with her fingers. In a small voice she replied. "I don't even remember him. Mum always said he simply walked out one day when I was a baby." She looked up at him and he could see the tears brimming in her eyes. "Why are you bringing this up now? It's ancient history." 

"Do you know much about him? His name or where he came from?" 

"Mum said he came from Ireland. She was trying to calm me down one day after I came home from school crying because the other kids were teasing me for being ginger." 

He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Why are kids so mean? I actually rather miss the fact your hair's not red anymore." 

A brief smile crossed her face but it didn't last long. "That wasn't even the worst of it. You try going to school every day back then with everyone knowing that you're illegitimate and your dad ran off." 

Charlie briefly closed his eyes. Damn, he hadn't even thought about it like that! No wonder she'd always had such issues with trust and relationships. How the hell was he going to tell her what he knew? He knew he had to, he couldn't keep it from her. She'd placed her trust in him to always be honest with her. If he broke that trust now it would be the final straw for her. 

"What if maybe that wasn't the whole story?" 

She pulled away, anger in her eyes. "Are you calling my mum a liar Charlie?!" 

He took a deep breath and sighed. "No of course not but you and I both know better than most people that life isn't always black and white. It's a hell of a lot more complicated than that!" 

"Oh don't you go getting on your superior moral high ground with me Charlie Fairhead!" 

"Is this the famed Irish temper? Suddenly your behaviour makes a lot more sense!" 

Fighting down the urge to reply rudely she asks. "What the hell has all this got to do with now Charlie? Why bring it up? I somehow doubt you were simply looking for a way to start an argument with me in the middle of the carpark." 

He sighed. "There's a patient. The one I told you looked familiar. I suddenly realised that it was his eyes that I'd seen before. I got chatting to him and he told me about how he used to live in Holby as a young man. That he'd had a girlfriend called Katie and they'd had a daughter together. Duffy, I have to ask you, what was your father's name?" 

"Jonathan. His name was Jonathan Simpson." She replied in a whisper. 

"That's what my patient is called." 

Her eyes went wide and she paled noticeably. "You mean he's here right now, in there?" She gestured towards the building. 

"Yes. He's in cubicle 5. He came in after falling at home. He'll be having an operation shortly." 

She began pacing. "This can't be happening. Charlie please tell me this is a joke. Oh shit I'm going to be sick!" She darted forward and vomited violently into a flowerbed. Charlie quickly rushed to her side, taking hold of her arm and rubbing her back as she was sick a second time. She straightened back up and he pulled her into a hug. 

"Hey, it's ok. Shall we head back inside?" 

She nodded quietly and they walked back into the department. As they approached cubicles Charlie heard Elle shout out. "Charlie! I need your help in here. His bp has fallen again and he's lost consciousness. Help me get him through to resus so we can stablise him." 

Duffy followed after them as they took Jon through the corridors. She was about to enter resus when Charlie stopped her. 

"I want to help! Let me in there Charlie, please." 

"That's really not a good idea right now Duffy. Just wait here. I'll come see you when I know more, ok?" 

He went back into resus as she stood looking through the window, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Closing the door behind him, Charlie walked across resus towards bay 3. He took a deep breath, trying his hardest to ignore the feeling of his wife's stare burning into the back of his head. He had to concentrate, it was just like any other patient. Elle looked up as he approached. 

"Charlie, I want o2, and iv fluids to stabilise his bp, and some bloods taken - fbc's, u's & e's, as well as a new bm reading. Do we have any more on his background history?" 

"He's been given iv fluids on arrival to stabilise his bp, normal urinary output since. He is on hypertension meds, and said he felt dizzy after lunch. Possibly taken his meds twice? He was recently given a change in his dosage. But no early signs of delirium or dementia that I could see. Could have been used to taking them twice a day, than once maybe? Had them by mistake?" 

"Good point. Anything else?" 

"No further pain relief given since the 10mg/ml morphine prior to arrival. That was over an hour ago." 

"Could be a reaction to the morphine?" 

"He had a low bm reading of 3.0mmols as well. He was given glucose at the scene." 

"Give him another dose of glucose to boost his bm levels. See if that makes a difference. Put a central line in and more fluids up. And some adrenaline on standby, just in case." 

Elle pondered the situation for a moment. "It could be the morphine, lack of fluids, and hypertension meds he's taken, and the low bm could all be the root cause too. Did he say how long ago he last ate?" 

"Lunch time, so, eight and a half hours ago now." 

"Keep checking his bm levels, is there no history of diabetes?" 

"None on his records." 

"Well, keep monitoring him in the meantime." 

"Will do."

Elle turned to leave but stopped as a thought occured to her. "Have we been able to make contact with any relatives? They may know more." 

Charlie hesitated. "Um, yes I managed to briefly speak to, um, one of his children. They didn't know anything more." 

"Ok. Are they on their way in?" 

"Well, it's a rather complicated situation..." 

Elle raised her eyebrow, Charlie was clearly uneasy about something. "Right. Well, I'll leave that in your capable hands Charlie. Alert me immediately of any changes." As she left resus she almost collided with Duffy who had been lingering outside and was wiping her hands across her face. "Duffy? You ok? What's the matter?" She asked sympathetically. 

"Nothing! I'm fine, I'm, er..." She spun on her heel and hurried away down the corridor. Elle shook her head in confusion and continued on her way back to reception. 

Charlie had just finished updating the ward on Jon's condition when he heard muffled sounds coming from the bed. He turned to see Jon attempting to pull off his oxygen mask. "Woah, you need to keep that on. You had a bit of a turn but don't worry we've gotten you stabilised so it hopefully won't happen again. I just need to pop out for a few minutes but Julie is right here if you need anything." 

Leaving resus he was surprised to see that Duffy wasn't standing outside. He wandered through reception and into the admin area surreptitiously scanning around for her. He was so preoccupied that he almost jumped out of his skin when David approached him and quietly whispered. "If you're looking for your wife, she's in your office." Charlie nodded at him and David carried on his way as though nothing had occured. 

Charlie approached his office door and quietly opened it. Duffy had her back to him and jumped at the sound of the door opening. "Hey, it's ok. It's just me." His heart sank as she looked up at him. She'd clearly worked herself up into quite a state while he'd been in resus. Stepping over to the desk he held his arms out towards her. She slumped forward into his embrace, she had no energy left to continue holding herself together. He sat for several minutes just holding her as she released the emotions that were pent up inside her. Finally her sobs began to quieten and he loosened his hold on her. Her voice barely above a whisper she asked. "Is he..?" 

"We got him stabilised but he's still very ill." 

"I want to see him." 

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." 

"Charlie he's my dad, you can't stop me going in there." 

"Duffy, think about what you're suggesting. He's seriously ill and you want to give him a shock like that? Think about it, what would you say if this was a relative of a patient you were treating?" 

"But Charlie he's my dad!" 

A horrible sense of déjà vu gripped Charlie. He recalled how badly things had gone the last time he'd heard that broken, plaintive wail in her voice. He took hold of her shoulders and waited til she met his gaze. "It's getting late. We should go home." 

"No, I'm staying here!" 

"Don't be ridiculous. He'll be moving up to the ward shortly. He needs rest and calm, you know that! I'll go check on him first thing in the morning before we start our shifts." 

She didn't have the fight left in her to argue and simply reached into her pocket and held out the key to her locker. After quickly collecting their belongings they headed home, stopping briefly on the way to pick up a Chinese takeaway. 

Once home they sat on the sofa with their food. Charlie finished most of his food in a matter of minutes but when he looked up he saw that Duffy had barely touched a bite. He sighed. "Sweetheart, please eat something." 

"Not hungry." She mumbled. 

"Duffy! You need to eat something. You threw up your last meal, if you don't eat something now you'll get dizzy later." 

"Fine!" She made a great show of taking a forkful of her food and eating it. "Happy now?" 

"Duffy I'm simply concerned about you." He sighed. "Please just eat a few more mouthfuls. Seriously, I've had a long day and the last thing I want to have to do is drag you up off the bathroom floor later." 

"I don't need your concern! I can take care of myself, I've always had to!" 

"And that's your biggest problem isn't it? You don't like letting people in, letting them care about you and help you. You're afraid they'll leave too." 

"You're surprised by that? Show me someone who hasn't left me..."

"Me!" 

Her shoulders sagged and she picked up her fork again, eating a few more mouthfuls before placing the half-full container on the coffee table. 

"In all the years I've known you you've never really talked about him much, your dad I mean, it must have really hard for you and your mum." 

"She sacrificed so much for me and all I did was take, take, take. I was such a selfish little madam, always complaining when we didn't have the money for a new dress or toy I'd seen the other kids at school playing with. It wasn't til I had Peter that I realised how bloody hard it was and, well, she was a lot nicer about it than I might have been in her shoes." 

"You were a child. You weren't being selfish. No kid wants to be different, believe me, I know." 

"I know you're just trying to be supportive but there's really no way you could have any idea what it was like." 

"My mum died when I was ten, Duffy." 

"What? But I met..." 

"My stepmother." He sighed. "I simply told everyone that she was my mum to avoid having to talk about what really happened." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Some things are best left unsaid." He reasoned. 

She smiled sadly. "That could almost be the title of the story of our lives." 

"It would seem so. But, it shouldn't change who we became. We'd be very different people otherwise. I'm never going to leave you Duffy. I hope you know that?"

"My head says to not believe you, that things will fall apart the same way they always have done in the past. But my heart, my heart tells me to trust you." 

"After thirty years Duffy, you need to trust me. And trust yourself."

"Its difficult but I'm trying my best." 

"Duffy this is me, what are you so afraid of? I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"It's not you hurting me that I fear the most. It's the thought of pushing you away without realising I'm doing it. Just like I pushed him away." 

Struggling to follow the line of her thoughts, Charlie asked. "Who?"

"My dad. Him and mum were happy until I came along. Then he left. What other possible explanation is there? It was my fault he left, my fault that mum was miserable for years." 

"Oh sweetheart, come here." He pulls her into a hug. "Maybe all of this will finally give you a chance to put some ghosts to rest. I think we both need some sleep, it's been a long, stressful day. We can deal with everything else tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie yawned again as the kettle began to boil. Despite being exhausted when he'd gone to bed he'd gotten hardly any sleep. Duffy had tossed and turned all night succeeding in keeping them both awake. Around 2am he'd briefly considered heading downstairs to sleep on the sofa so at least one of them would get some decent rest but he couldn't bring himself to leave her by herself. No doubt he'd just lie there worrying about her anyway. 

He finished making the coffees, picked them up and carried them towards the stairs. He was starting to become concerned that Duffy hadn't come downstairs after her shower. They were going to be late if she didn't hurry up. He pushed open the bedroom door and quickly discovered what had delayed her. She was laid, wrapped in a towel, fast asleep on top of the duvet. She looked so peaceful that he was reluctant to wake her but knew she'd be cross if he let her be late for work. Placing the coffees on top of the chest of drawers he sat down gently next to her. Reaching out he shook her shoulder lightly. 

"Duffy... Sweetheart... You need to wake up for work." 

She mumbled something indistinct. He couldn't be certain what she'd said but it had sounded somewhat threatening and unpleasant. 

"Come on. Sit up and drink your coffee, you'll feel much better after that." 

"Urgh!" She sits up and takes the mug from him, drinking it fairly quickly in an attempt to force herself to wake up fully. 

-x- 

A couple of hours later, Charlie had finally gotten the opportunity to pop up to the ward and visit Jon. Checking in with the senior nurse on duty he was pleased to hear that Jon's condition had continued to remain stable through the night. It seemed that Elle had been right about the causes of Jon's low blood pressure and blood sugars. 

Rounding the corner, Charlie entered the bay where Jon had been given a bed. 

"Hello Jon, how are you feeling this morning?" 

"Ah Charlie, how kind of you to stop by, it's nice to see a friendly face. I'm doing ok thank you." 

"That's good to hear. If you're feeling a bit lonely up here by yourself I could, well, I could try and see if I can make contact with your daughter for you? She may still live locally." 

Jon looked at him agast. "Surely you have better things to be doing with your time than troubling yourself with the problems of a foolish old man." 

"It'd be no trouble, honestly."

"I know barely anything about her. There's no chance of finding her." 

"Well, I have a bit of a confession to make... I, um, I've done a bit of digging already. I can put you in touch with her if you want?" 

"You've found her? Does she want to see me?" 

"She was quite shocked but yes she wants to see you." 

"Really?!" 

"Yes. I need to head back downstairs but leave it with me and I promise I'll get things organised." 

-x-

Duffy entered Charlie's office at the end of her shift to find him on the phone so she perched on the edge of his desk and waited for him to finish. 

"...tomorrow morning? Ah right, fair enough. That's understandable. Ok see you a little later. Bye." 

Placing the phone back down he turned towards her. "That was the ward. Jon's operation has been pushed back til the morning. They're happy with his condition otherwise, he's been stable for 24 hours now. So... Do you want to go up and see him?" 

A brief sparkle of joy flashed in her eyes but then she looked down, playing with her fingers that lay in her lap. "I... Er... Well... I want to but..." 

He placed his hand on top of hers. "If it's too much we can wait." 

She sat up straighter, squaring her shoulders. "No, I want to. I have to. Just let me get changed first." She got up and left the room. 

Charlie finished up some paperwork and tidied up his desk while he waited for her to return. He looked up at the clock and realised she'd been gone for over 15 minutes. It didn't normally take her that long to change after a shift so he went off in search of her. 

Entering the staffroom he found that she had changed into a blouse, jeans and boots. She was stood in front of her locker fiddling with her hair. She pulled it up into a ponytail, then let out a disgruntled sigh and let it drop loose again. He stepped up behind her. "Wear it down, I like it when you wear it down." 

Sighing she brushed it one last time and then she leaned closer to the mirror, poking at the skin under her eyes. Taking the concealer from her bag she tried to cover the shadows under her eyes as best she could. Another sigh escaped her lips. "I look awful!" 

He smiled and gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "You look lovely. Now come on, you're just stressing yourself out."

Letting out a long breath, she whispered. "I just want him to like me." 

"He will. Let's go upstairs." 

The journey upstairs took place with no words exchanged between the pair. Charlie glanced over at Duffy again, she was fidgeting with the hand that wasn't held tightly in his. He gave her hand a squeeze and she smiled weakly at him. They arrived at the the floor of the ward Jon was being looked after on and exited the lift. Halfway down the corridor Charlie stopped and gave Duffy a gentle hug, kissing her on the forehead. "Just wait here a moment, I'll be right back." 

Entering the bay where Jon's bed was Charlie greeted him warmly. "There's a visitor in the corridor for you. Would you like me to send her in?" 

A nervous look settled on Jon's face. "What's she like?" 

Charlie smiled. "Why don't you see for yourself?" 

"Do I look ok?" 

"You look fine. Now I've told her about why you're in here so don't worry too much about that." He turned back towards the door. "I'll send her through." 

Arriving back in the corridor Charlie found Duffy pacing nervously. Sensing his presence she stopped and looked over at him. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "You ready? He's just through there. Bay 1." She chewed at her bottom lip. Placing a finger under her chin he tilted her face to look at him properly. "Regardless of what happens in there always remember that I love you and you mean everything to me." He kissed her lightly on the lips. She took a deep breath and walked in through the door. 

Stopping at the foot of the bed she forced herself to smile. "Hi." 

Jon smiled back. "Hi." 

An awkward pause hung in the air. Running her fingers along the edge of the bed frame Duffy fought down the urge to pick up his medical notes and flick through them. "How are you feeling?" 

"I'm doing ok. Charlie and that lady doctor downstairs did a grand job sorting me out. I'll be even better once I've had this operation on my hip though, I'm not one for lying around in bed all day!" 

"Well it'll take time to recover, it's a serious operation." 

"Will you sit down? I'd like to know more about you." 

She walked over and sat down in the chair next to Jon's bed. "What do you want to know?" 

He looked down at her hands that were clasped on her knee. "You're married?" 

Duffy smiled. "Yes. Very happily." 

"I'm glad you're happy." 

"Did you, um, did you get married after..?" 

"I was married for a time but, well, it didn't work out. It was a long time ago." 

A thought occured to her. "Did you have, well, I mean, do I have, um..." 

"I have three other children. Another daughter and two sons. Do you have children?" 

Her face lit up in a smile. "Three boys plus a stepson. Well, I say boys, they're all grown men now. I also have a granddaughter who's just over a year old." 

Jon's eyes widened. "You're a grandmother?! Goodness, now I do feel old!" 

An awkward silence descended once again. Taking in a steadying breath Jon decided to ask the question he'd wanted to know the answer to since he'd first heard that she was willing to meet him. "Lisa, what made you come here today? I wasn't even sure you'd know who I was." 

She shrugged. "Mum told me bits and pieces. To explain why I was different." 

"Different?" 

"From the rest of my family. I had red hair and green eyes, no-one else looked like me." 

"I wouldn't be so sure, I can see your mother in you." 

She blushed and looked back down at her hands, playing with her fingers in her lap. 

"You haven't really answered my question though. Why did you come? After all this time. Had you tried to find me before?"

"I'd considered it years ago but given the way mum said you'd absented yourself from our lives I felt like you'd probably moved on and wouldn't be interested." 

"What changed?" 

"At first I panicked, thinking you might die. Then after I calmed down and discovered that you'd been talking about me, well..." She shrugged again. 

"Charlie told you about that?" He asked, sounding slightly surprised.

Duffy smiled. "He and I have never been very good at keeping things from each other." 

"Well that explains how he found you so quickly! You and Charlie know each other well then?" 

Her smile widened. "He's my husband. We've known each other for over 30 years." 

Jon smiled. "He seems like a good man. Asks a few too many questions for his own good but a decent chap nonetheless." 

Duffy let out a short laugh. "I'm sure he'll be pleased to hear you approve." 

"Well, he's a bit older than I was expecting." 

Duffy rolled her eyes and sighed. 

Jon thought for a moment. "So he knew about your childhood." 

"Not really. It was your eyes." 

"My eyes?" 

"Yes, he realised they looked the same as mine." 

Another awkward pause descended between them. She noticed Jon attempt to hide a yawn. Looking up at the clock she realised how late it was getting. "Right, I should let you get some rest. You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow afterall." She stood up preparing to leave. 

Jon reached out and placed his hand on top of hers that was resting on the edge of the bed. "You'll come back and see me again though?" 

"Yes, I'll come see you again soon." 'There's lots more we need to talk about.' She thought, 'But this isn't the time or place.' Smiling gently she slipped her hand out from under his and quietly left the room. 

Once back out in the corridor, she spotted Charlie waiting for her. He stood as she approached and held his arms out to her. She gratefully entered his embrace, resting her head against his shoulder. 

"Let's go home." He suggested and steered her in the direction of the lift.


End file.
